The Maggot's Back!

Helllllloooo Cyberspace!

To those of you who actually read my blog, I'm back! It's been a while---I've been busy finishing up classes so I can graduate on time (blah, blah, blah). Currently, I find myself at my desk, unable to sleep, thinking of the best possible way to be productive with the time that would otherwise be spent staring aimlessly at the computer screen. But, that's enough out of me.

I'm back, in full-force. In an effort to be as concise as possible in my second-wind, I will only report on issues I feel are necessary to report on. And, this time, I will not limit my reports to technological developments and how they are changing the music business. Instead, I seek to determine how these technological advancements influence the entertainment industry, as a whole.

With that said, I'm going to sleep--at 2:30 am. Currently, I'm in the process of training to break the world record of how many consecutive days one can go without rest...I'm building my resistance to sleep...slowly but surely. In the meantime, here's an interesting YouTube video I came across a while ago, just a hint of the things to come...




This won't be the last you hear from me,


-The Maggot.

Simlish--The Future Language of Recorded Music?

I don't know about you, but I love the Sims. I've purchased every expansion pack from "Livin' Large" to "Hot Date" and have even invested in The Sims 2. In order to promote their new Sims 2 expansion pack, "Seasons", EA games has put a video up on YouTube featuring UK artist Lily Allen's rendition of her song "Smile" in Simlish. This video animates Allen's likeness as a Sim and includes the features of the new expansion pack--a very effective way of marketing, if you ask me. So far, this video has generated over 100,000 views on viral video sites like YouTube. Below you will find the finished product.



...And the original



In the sprit of this video (and promoting new software), EA games is holding a contest through online karaoke site SingShot that allows fans of the Sims 2 and Lily Allen alike to re-create the Simlish version of Smile. So far, 85 people have taken the time to re-record this song in Simlish (which is harder than you may think, trust me). The hosting site, SingShot, allows users to rate themselves and each other; ultimately the user with the highest rating is the winner. This is some pretty cool stuff.


But, Miss Lily Allen is not the first to re-record one of her hit-songs in Simlish. In order to promote the release of their new game "Urbz: Sims in the City", EA utilized the talents of the Black Eyed Peas to record one of the tracks from their multi-platinum album "Monkey Business" in Simlish. Additionally, artists like The Flaming Lips, Pussycat Dolls, Barenaked Ladies, and Depeche Mode have lent their talents for the promotion of Sims games. But this is not a one-sided deal--the artists are also recieving a great deal of promotion for themselves. Generally, these artists record their new singles in Simlish in order to also promote the release of their up-coming album, (i.e. Depeche Mode recorded a Simlish-language version of their latest single Suffer Well for the Open for Business expansion pack).




This is a very good idea. Sims games attract millions of users across the globe, spanning from the United States to Europe to Asia. When these artists are featured in such games it allows their music to reach a greater audience and, hopefully, promote an increase in record sales and digital downloads. It would be interesting to see if EA games ever releases a Sims soundtrack of all the hit-songs in Simlish. Electronic Arts may very well be able to do this now after starting their own publishing company.


After all of this, I pose a question; could this be the future of recorded music? More specifically, is the only way to increase record sales synching songs with popular media (i.e. video games, television) and then monetizing those songs in conjunction with the media? It seems to have worked in the past with shows like Grey's Anatomy and The OC...Maybe recording artists stand a chance with The Sims.

Viral Videos Break New Artists!

As we all know, promotion is extremely important to break a new artist into the mainstream. Promotion has been categorized in the past as anything from radio play to grassroots street promotion. Thanks to the advent of the Internet, promotion efforts for artists are so much different---some would even say more convenient. Essentially, the Internet is disrupting the way artists have been marketed in the past.

Social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook target specific demographics and enable a larger span of "word-of-mouth" promotion; these sites allow Japanese music fans to become acquainted with American artists, for example. Back in July 2006, the band OK Go gained popularity via YouTube for their "Here It Goes Again" music video, gaining over 12 million views to date. With the gained success in record sales and popularity from this video, the band received a Grammy award for "Best Short Form Music Video" in March.

Continuing in this fashion, artist like Amy Winehouse are getting a name for themselves in the U.S. thanks to viral videos. About a month ago, a video called "Rehabitual Britney" was posted on sites like Spinner and YouTube that featured spliced images of Britney Spears that made it to appear that she was singing along to the Amy Winehouse track "Rehab".



....And the original version




To date, this video has over 1 million views and counting. Thanks to the success that Winehouse has found on such viral websites, she is beginning to get airplay on AC and AAA formats like Star 98.7 in Los Angeles and 92.9 WBOS in Boston, respectively. Additionally, thanks to collaborations with artists like Ghostface Killah on the track "You Know I'm No Good" Winehouse has earned herself a spot performing at this year's Coachella music festival in Indio, CA.

But this isn't all to say that Amy Winehouse hasn't drawn a following before her U.S. debut. Winehouse is actually a major recording artist in the U.K, receiving the award for "British Female Solo Artist" at this year's Brit Awards. Similarly, OK Go, before their sudden U.S. popularity in 2007, did quite well in the U.K. Either the music industry is experiencing a British invasion, or they sincerely need to reconsider how artists are marketed and promoted to the public. I'm guessing the latter is more plausible.

What is Acceptable for TV?

Jack Black and Channel 101.com recently announced their attempt at monetizing user-created video content. Jack Black, along with friends Dan Harmon and Rob Schrab started Channel 101 in an effort to create an online forum for original digital shorts. Channel 101 was first introduced in 2003, serving as the predecessor of YouTube and other video hosting sites. In order to respond to the popularity of these video hosting sites, Black and Channel 101 have developed what is now known as the "Department of Acceptable Media".

Expanding on this idea, Black and the guys at Channel 101 pitched a television show to VH1 and, with no surprise, VH1 got on board. The new show "Acceptable. TV" will premiere March 23rd on VH1. "Acceptable.TV" will feature original user-created videos taken from the Department of Acceptable Media website along with original content created by the team at Channel 101.com. After each show, viewers can vote on the website for which shows should be canceled or continued for the next week.

Black, VH1, Channel 101, and the creators will be able to monetize this content in a very interesting way. The video hosting site is powered by Revver which will allow the creators of original content to retain a percentage of advertising income based on how many people view their respective videos. This will serve as an effective way to attract aspiring filmmakers to create content for the website; not only is there a chance for their work to be shown on national television, but there is a chance to make some money. The Department of Acceptable Media website is already up and running. So far, three videos are uploaded to the site for viewing...We will have to see which ones make the cut on the March 23rd premiere.

It is quite obvious that a goal of "Acceptable TV" is to re-gain the viewing audience lost to sites like YouTube. Instead of presenting the same old reality television shows created by "professionals", VH1 is, instead, accepting the changes in programming accelerated by the Internet. By cooperating with the move towards user created content, VH1 has the potential to attract a wider audience and marginally revolutionize network television. Below you will find some of the trailers for "Acceptable TV"; you are the judge of whether or not this show can be the future of television programming.

Have Viral Videos Gone Too Far???

WebJunk is asking people, through their website, to vote for the "40 Greatest Internet Superstars". These "internet superstars" consist of indivduals who have either popularized themselves through blogging, like Perez Hilton, or via video hosting sites, like YouTube. The viral video stars that you can choose from include Andy Milonakis, Ask a Ninja, Lonley Girl, and Brian Atene--to name a few. Perhaps the most disturbing of all the "superstars", however, is Gino the Ginny.

According to his EPK, Gino the Ginny is an 11 year old from New York who specializes in sketch comedy. Although at first Gino the Ginny's parody is hilarious, it becomes offensive and alarming in retrospect. In his video, "Gino Hits the Clubs", Gino talks about being on steroids, tweezing his eyebrows, buying $500 bottles of wine, going tanning, and being tripped up on ecstasy. An 11 year old could not possibly have come up with this idea..And, in, fact, he did not. A producer by the name of Renzo Da'More put Gino Meluzzio up to this. Da'More's proudction company, has created 19 other viral videos starring Gino the Ginny. Additionally, there is a Gino the Ginny movie in the works and Gino even makes personal appearances at clubs in the Northeast. It seems as though Da'More and crew are exploiting this child more than helping further his "career". So far, Gino the Ginny's "Gino Hits the Clubs" has generated over 670,000 views on YouTube. Gino even has both a website, and a My Space page.





Is exploiting the youth of America the future of online entertainment? More importantly, is laughing at the expense of others a viable means of entertainment? I know that the answer to both of these questions most likely is "yes". So expect to see more viral videos of this nature on the YouTubes and iFilms of the world wide web. But, when you really think about it, such exploitation of others is a direct reflection of the evils that are inherent in human nature. It's sad, I know, but we all need a little laugh every once in a while, right? What ever happened to stand up comedy?

My Box in a Box Sensation

For those of you out there that have yet to hear about "My Box in a Box", I'll tell you about it. Basically, it's a spoof that was created by three young Philly natives in response to another spoof aired on SNL (Saturday Night Live) called "Dick in a Box". "My Box in a Box" is now considered a viral video--slowing down video hosting sites like YouTube because so many people log in at the same time to watch it (over 2 million views to date). Quickly, by word of mouth, "My Box in a Box" gained popularity. News networks like MSNBC jumped at the chance to get the inside scoop on the video. It turns out that "My Box in a Box" is not actually sung by "Bunny"--the girl who performs the song in the video. Instead, this Bunny character lip-syncs to a track pre-recorded by an American student studying in London.
A couple of nights ago, I went to the website

My Box in a Box.com

and downloaded the .mp3 file of the song for free. While listening to the song my roommate posed the question, "did you honestly pay money for this?" In response to her question I posed another, "And you listen to songs like Akon's 'Smack That' on the radio only to purchase them on iTunes?"
I had her stumped. This is a serious issue in the music business--if radio is stuck playing senseless songs like "Smack That", then they may as well play satires like "My Box in a Box". In fact, a number of radio stations have already added "My Box in a Box" onto their rotation. Check

Inside Music Media: My Box in a Box

for more details. Below you'll find the original "Dick in a Box" SNL sketch followed by the "My Box in a Box" video.